Frugal Friends Fearlessly Facing February.

[needastrongoneagain]

Thought I'd start the new thread. Been ages since I started a thread!

Great news Em!! Congrats 🎉

Two lots of broken washing machines on the thread?! Oh no but glad yours is now sorted Happier.

NSD for me, stuck at home as DS poorly as usual. Will take him to the GP tomorrow if he gets a fever overnight or tomorrow morning again. Hoping he wont though and will be feeling better so we can go to playgroup instead...

Does anyone else feel sooo exhausted (and stressed tbh, but they're interlinked) that you can't be bothered with a social life at all anymore? I feel permanently so tired that the idea of going out on a night makes me shudder. But then I've realised my social life has almost completely slipped away since I had DS 18m ago. And oddly irs gotten worse over time as he's getting older. Hmm.

I just happen to be supplying my washing repair guy at work, last time I waited a month for him to come look at it, this time only one week, although I do live much closer to him now

Basketball is a wrap for the season was looking forward to getting my Thurs eves back maybe going swimming which we all love but ds has taken up football which is on Mon & Thurs with prob a match too at weekends. I'm thrilled he's doing something though.

NSD as a colleague treated us to lunch from deli counter & I avoided spends with dc because I'd no purse he never thought of tapping with my phone

Show off 🤣

I have had a message from the repair guy. Asking me to give details of what’s wrong with it. Which I gave on my voicemail AND the online form. But I’ve given them again.

I looked at new ones yesterday. £530 for new machine with next day delivery installation and removal of old one. So I know I can get one if needs be. I really don’t want to get a new one but it’s now dependant on cost of repairs and how long it will take.

How old is the broken one Em? If it's over 5 years old it might not be worth fixing... I've got a Bosch one and it's been good so far <touches wood>

Sorry to hear about your DS @WeightoftheWorld. Understand re being tired and stressed too!

Our house, now 12 years old but then a new build, had high end appliances fitted, and if any broke we replaced with the same specification. Lesson, they last no longer than mid range alternatives! I've discovered Hoover appliances as a good compromise, they seem to have all the features but better build quality.

Hoping for a NSD.

@Girliefriendlikespuppies it was new in 2018.

the repair guy just text. 17 April is the earliest.

Just popping on with a reminder to submit energy meter readings today due to potential for small price changes from your energy company tomorrow despite the price cap being extended. Hope everyone is well. I continue to be crap at keeping up.

Ugh that's annoying as just on the cusp of 5 years 😒 I couldn't cope until the 17th April without one though and there's only two of us!!

Hi all, have caught up on the thread. Coming back from Germany today and looking forward to a few quiet weeks. DH has a hernia op next week and I have a crown fitting so we will want to take things easy. Going to do a 10 day health plan so need to do shopping list and meal plan for that. Basically lots of veg, fruit, nuts etc and low carb, no sugar or booze. Just a little reset.
we have spent a fortune in Berlin, it’s such an expensive city. Need to cut back big time!

Ive had a productive morning. Kids delivered to school. I took a load of laundry to dsis’ been to laundrette and dropped off clothes. Went to the gym.

and now I’m sitting on the couch watching Netflix eating a cheese and tuna toasted wrap. Yum.

Wait for this for showing off, I had to speak to him about work today and asked about bill, so he told me it was a coil that was blocked causing the problem, so €60, and after a few minutes rang me back and said you're grand actually don't worry about it. His wife is calling to the office today so I'm going to pay it anyway.

Use up ends day for food in my house today.

Had scrambled egg in a flatbread for breakfast
Lunch will be another type of flatbread piadana flatbread pizza
Animals had the ends of a cooked chicken and I've bolognese cooked which will be dinner.

We're away tomorrow to my parents so no dinners needed for weekend.

Thankfully DS made a speedy recovery and we had a full day out today which was not really planned. Left home with kids at 9.30am and got back at 3.45pm. Spendy though: £2 bus to playgroup, £1 playgroup, £23ish on lunch, cake and drinks for the three of us at the play cafe. Last day open today, my friends run it, devastated for them and for us, it's been such a lifeline for us.

We are all absolutely shattered now!

Happier Aw we had a similar experience once when we got a fella out to fix our house alarm. He told us it would cost £50 or £60 from memory, he spent about 5 mins on it and went nah just give me a tenner hah. We gave him £20 iirc as felt too bad to give only ten.

'Splainly the season for washing machines. The one in my rental flat has broken down. I have an engineer coming on Monday, and fingers crossed it can be repaired under the Domestic and General plan. If it can't, then I guess I am looking at funding a replacement. I don't think the replacement component of the D&G plan applies unless an initial repair can be carried out. Sigh.

The joint account has been topped up by DH, hurrah (my share goes in around the 9th of the month)! I have paid E.On £200 and spent £8 in Sainsbury's. Food spends in April need to stay low, with everything else going on - aiming for no more than £11 per day. DH away until 13 April and DS not coming home until around the same time, so I am going to scrimp like mad while on my own in order to splurge a bit later in the month. Dmum keeps asking whether I will be lonely and offering to come and stay - not a chance!

Oh, and E.On has just emailed to say it will back off on raising my DD, and keep it as is. Squealing indignantly obviously trumps the algorithm!

Boo to all the broken washing machines.

Having to re jig the food budget this month already as DH coming home is expensive and we've had a few visitors where I've felt I've needed beer, wine, ale etc available (just in case, not always needed). Will need to eat from the freezer and store cupboards rather more!

£10 Amazon on dishwasher tablets. I tried some ecological ones and they were neither frugal nor effective I am sorry to say. 😢

Boo to broken appliances
£££ on food
but but

2 weeks off

Very jealous of your two weeks off Life. We are also spending too much on food Need with no good justification so need to sort that out. Put to dinner with friends last night so £40 spent there. Need to buy a bottle to take as a hosting gift later

happier amazing!!!! That’s the sort of service you want!

DH is sorting the loan washing machine “later”

im leaving him to it. It involves fil and his gf’s “spare” machine, clearing out the garage and hiring a van. I’m not interested in the slightest in having two machines in my garage. We don’t know how old the loan one is. Or when it was last used. Or anything like that. If it breaks we’ll have to replace it. I’ve said to DH I’m not paying for a new machine to sit unused in a garage. I’d rather replace ours. But no. He’s “got it” so am leaving him to it. Fils gf also wants rent money for it. £500. 😅🙄

I’m riding today. Have to pay for last week too so that’s £90 coming out of the account today.

transferred around £50 from joint ac to my ac as used my card yesterday for cat stuff at vets and laundry.

Enjoy your time off @life

Not heard anything from BG re energy yet. But I have had a letter from the bank re our mortgage DD increasing. By about £1 a month. Thankfully we owe very little so not much impact.

Payday yesterday. It was not great as I lost 10 hours due to the snow. Going to have to be very mindful this month re my spending. Having said that I have spent £33 on hair products (I totally ran out and these will last me months). Plus £15 on a birthday gift for a friends party next week.

@Wolfcub we are the same with food shopping. Need to be a bit more careful. Although even being careful it’s getting harder and harder to keep spends at a reasonable level.

Housework, ironing, shopping list and relax today.

Currently sitting on the line to the NHS Business Services Authority helpline, trying to get hold of the new HRT pre-payment certificate. I have been eking out my HRT for weeks, waiting for 1 April so that I could get one of these certificates (around £19 will buy you a 12 month supply of your HRT meds) but guess what? - the online service isn't working, and my pharmacy says 'we don't have a link yet'. I'll bet they do have a working link, just can't find space to deal with this on a busy Saturday morning.

Shock waves of grumpy menopausal women are sitting in the same queue as I am, I imagine.

Frugal fail: I asked DH to remove the too-bright light bulb from the outside light at the front door, because it goes off like a bloody lighthouse throughout the night, set off by the merest breeze, in order to change it for a low-wattage bulb. Heard a crash, and he has broken the glass shade. There's another job to add to the list. Then he spilt coffee on the freshly washed and changed white linen bed cover. He's now taken the dog out, I hope for about 5 hours.

Will google lights while I wait on the phone.

I might be barking up the wrong tree @BigSkies2022 but why on earth are you eking out HRT?

You frequently post about having just a few pounds per month for yourself while your DH "treats" you to things.
Is your relationship financially fair?
There is no way my DH would allow me to put my health and well being at risk in this way, our finances are pooled and we have the same amount of spending money each.
Apogies if I've got this wrong
Ps it's not working for me either, doubt that anyone will be around on a Saturday

€80 on a baby present & present for my nieces birthday luckily was able to use one for all vouchers
Got ds 2 long sleeved tops for €12 while I was there.

No way would I be eaking out meds. Saying that I ran out of my meds the other day (currently 100mg). Had an old unopened in date pack of a lower dosage (50mg). This was on a Friday evening. I text my gp and asked her if I could take two of the 50. She said no probs and had a script waiting for me on the Monday.

fritata for lunch. Yum. Doing a use it up today.

DH about to start the moving of the washing machine.